Truth and Patriotism
Patriotic Conservative has written a paean to patriotism. It made me wonder whether patriotism demanded more than simply unquestioning loyalty. To be great at mathematics, you need to study math. It’s not about joining the Math Club or getting a Mandelbrot set tattooed on your nether regions. Is patriotism the same way? Is patriotism the unquestioning love of existing symbols and dogma? Or do you need to do something to actually try to make the country better. Is it patriotic to repeat a national lie? Here’s Mr. Conservative’s paean:
Patriotism is what has fueled our country for hundreds of years.Well, patriotism and crude oil. And before that, patriotism, coal, and whale blubber. Also, war. But that whole manifest destiny thing definitely prodded us along as well. So, sure. It fueled the country.
Patriotism is what has united this country for hundreds of years.
(Technically not hundreds. Not to nitpick … but we had a bit of a civil war problem about a hundred and fifty years back.)
Patriotism is what has driven men and women to take up arms and defend this country for hundreds of year.
It definitely drove some of them to take up arms. (Though we haven’t always let the ladies literally take up arms for hundreds of years. They were more supposed to rivet us a bunch of bombs then quietly go back to the home and bake when the menfolk came back. Thankfully, it turns out they weren’t down with the second part of that plan.) Unfortunately, patriotism is also the thing that’s driven the other side to take up arms and defend their country. And … “defend” is sort of a weird word. Because the last time we had a ground invasion of our country by a foreign force was … what, 1812? We’ve go to use the word “defend” a bit loosely. We certainly did some defending of other countries—but in general, the patriots on the other side were more on the defensive.
Patriotism has been felt by each and every true American heart for hundreds of years.
Clever use of the phrase “true American heart.” It’s a subtle weaponization of Patriotism. If you don’t feel patriotism in your heart, you’re not truly American.
Patriotism in America has come from our love of her and her greatness for hundreds of years.
I actually like this one. I’ll rephrase it slightly. Patriotism is the love of things that make America great. While the boundaries and demographics of America may change, there are certain core values we’ve been working for hundreds of years to more fully understand and more perfectly express. Our history has some dark spots—and we’re carrying some of that darkness to the future. But there has been progress—and that progress has been a great thing.
And now we want to turn our back on Patriotism? On our love of this country? We want to let go of that which this country was built on and has been at the heart of every American for hundreds of years?
I don’t think there are a lot of people who want to turn their back on patriotism. There are some people who’ve been frustrated by the tendency of certain people to turn patriotism into a political weapon. When the word “patriotism” is twisted into a tool of division and exclusion, some of the truly patriotic have turned their back on the word in discouragement. Can you blame them? 
We want to make it politically correct to say that America is not the greatest country on earth? Why? Why should we lie? America is the greatest country on earth, and has been since we became a country over two-hundred years ago.
Why the insecurity? If that lie is so obvious everybody will see through it? Is somebody calling your painted idol a block of wood? If America is really the greatest country on earth, shouldn’t it be able to stand up to some criticism? Shouldn’t we be able to identify and work to correct its flaws? You don’t become the greatest country by declaring yourself the greatest. Greatness isn’t a shouting contest. Identify what makes the country great. Work to fix the flaws. Live greatness.
America has always stood up for justice and still stands for justice.
Dude, it would be awesome if that were true. But … that’s really not historically true. At least, the first part isn’t true. We haven’t always stood up for justice. Slavery is not justice. Our treatment of the people who were here before us is not justice. Our growing inequality and decreasing social mobility is not justice. And does America stand for justice? I hope so. But working for justice means more than just standing there.
When disaster strikes we are there. When millions are oppressed we are there.
(Let’s be careful about our word choice here. Being there “when millions are oppressed” isn’t necessarily a good thing.)
When others call we are there. People come to America as immigrants, it happens but is not common for Americans to leave to live somewhere else, because people want to live in America because of the opportunities she holds and the better life she offers. This is the greatest country on earth, and I will stand by that until my dying day.
I have a funny story about immigration. Apparently, we’ve been pretty horrendous to immigrants lately. We’ve let the worst of ourselves show. I guess it’s not really a funny story.
I still think the U.S. is the greatest country on earth … but I’m more optimistic about my life expectancy. Will we still be “the greatest” in sixty or seventy years? Not if we just stand around and admire our own awesomeness. We’ve been preening in that mirror so long our clothing has gone out of style.
If somebody you care about is bleeding profusely, it’s not loving to insist that she’s flawless and has nothing to worry about. The loving thing is to stop the bleeding then get her to a doctor. If a guy is clearly suffering from blood poisoning, ignoring the problem isn’t loving. Instead, say, “Dude. You need to get that looked at immediately.” Or, better yet, go with him. Do what you can to make things better.
God Bless America.
God save us all.
